Chiral Phase-transfer Catalysis Research Articles

Dual-Catalysis-Enabled Construction of Vicinal Stereogenic Centers through Diastereo- and Enantioselective Allylic Substitution

AbstractVicinal stereogenic centers represent prevalent structural motifs in organic synthetic chemistry, and their construction poses a longstanding challenge. Transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution has become a well-established enantioselective C–C bond-forming reaction. When these reactions involve a prochiral nucleophile and an allylic electrophile with a terminal substituent, the creation of vicinal stereogenic centers becomes feasible. However, despite remarkable achievements having been accomplished, realizing this transformation with precise control over both the enantio- and diastereoselectivity remains a significant challenge. To address the stereoselective challenges, the introduction of a second catalyst to the transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation to control the diastereoselectivity during C–C bond formation has proven particularly fruitful. In this short review, we aim to highlight recent advances in dual catalysis that enable diastereo- and enantioselective allylic substitutions.1 Introduction2 Construction of Vicinal Stereogenic Centers by Organo and Metal Dual Catalysis2.1 Chiral Phase-Transfer Catalysis and Transition-Metal Dual Catalysis2.2 Chiral Amine and Transition-Metal Dual Catalysis2.3 NHC and Transition-Metal Dual Catalysis2.4 Chiral Aldehyde and Transition-Metal Dual Catalysis2.5 Chiral Lewis Base and Transition-Metal Dual Catalysis3 Construction of Vicinal Stereogenic Centers by Metal and Metal Dual Catalysis3.1 Lewis Acidic Metal and Iridium Dual Catalysis3.2 Lewis Acidic Metal and Palladium Dual Catalysis3.3 Palladium and Ruthenium Dual Catalysis3.4 Other Advancements in the Construction of Vicinal Stereogenic Centers through Synergistic Bimetallic Catalysis Enabling Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation4 Conclusions and Future Outlook

Study of Ground State Interactions of Enantiopure Chiral Quaternary Ammonium Salts and Amides, Nitroalkanes, Nitroalkenes, Esters, Heterocycles, Ketones and Fluoroamides.

Chiral phase‐transfer catalysis provides high level of enantiocontrol, however no experimental data showed the interaction of catalysts and substrates. 1H NMR titration was carried out on Cinchona and Maruoka ammonium bromides vs. nitro, carbonyl, heterocycles, and N−F containing compounds. It was found that neutral organic species and quaternary ammonium salts interacted via an ensemble of catalyst +N−C−H and (sp2)C−H, specific for each substrate studied. The correspondent BArF salts interacted with carbonyls via a diverse set of +N−C−H and (sp2)C−H compared to bromides. This data suggests that BArF ammonium salts may display a different enantioselectivity profile. Although not providing quantitative data for the affinity constants, the data reported proofs that chiral ammonium salts coordinate with substrates, prior to transition state, through specific C−H positions in their structures, providing a new rational to rationalize the origin of enantioselectivity in their catalyses.

Chiral Phase Transfer Catalysis in the Asymmetric Synthesis of a 3,3-Disubstituted Isoindolinone and Determination of Its Absolute Configuration by VCD Spectroscopy.

In this work we report our endeavors toward the development of an asymmetric synthesis of a 3,3-disubstituted isoindolinone, dimethyl 2-(1-methyl-3-oxoisoindolin-1-yl)malonate, via asymmetric cascade reaction of 2-acetylbenzonitrile with dimethylmalonate and the determination of its absolute configuration (AC) by vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). Bifunctional ammonium salts, derived from trans-1,2-cyclohexanediamine in combination with inorganic bases under phase transfer conditions, were the most effective catalytic systems, leading to the target in high yields and moderate enantioselectivity. An efficient process of heterochiral crystallization allowed the increase of the enantiopurity up to 96% ee and in an acceptable overall yield. An important aim of the present work is the comparison of different VCD methodologies for AC determination of the target compound.

Asymmetric trifluoromethylthiolation of azlactones under chiral phase transfer catalysis.

The first enantioselective method for the installation of the SCF3 group at the C-4 position of azlactones is described in the present communication under quinidinium phase transfer catalysis. The higher performance of substrates containing electron-rich 2-aryl groups at the azlactone was rationalized using DFT calculations.

Enantioselective catalytic synthesis of α-aryl-α-SCF3-β2,2-amino acids.

We herein report a novel entry towards chiral α-SCF3-β2,2-amino acids by carrying out the ammonium salt-catalyzed α-trifluoromethylthiolation of isoxazolidin-5-ones. This approach allowed for high enantioselectivities and high yields and the obtained heterocycles proved to be versatile platforms to access other targets of potential interest.

The Evolution of Chemical High-Throughput Experimentation To Address Challenging Problems in Pharmaceutical Synthesis.

The structural complexity of pharmaceuticals presents a significant challenge to modern catalysis. Many published methods that work well on simple substrates often fail when attempts are made to apply them to complex drug intermediates. The use of high-throughput experimentation (HTE) techniques offers a means to overcome this fundamental challenge by facilitating the rational exploration of large arrays of catalysts and reaction conditions in a time- and material-efficient manner. Initial forays into the use of HTE in our laboratories for solving chemistry problems centered around screening of chiral precious-metal catalysts for homogeneous asymmetric hydrogenation. The success of these early efforts in developing efficient catalytic steps for late-stage development programs motivated the desire to increase the scope of this approach to encompass other high-value catalytic chemistries. Doing so, however, required significant advances in reactor and workflow design and automation to enable the effective assembly and agitation of arrays of heterogeneous reaction mixtures and retention of volatile solvents under a wide range of temperatures. Associated innovations in high-throughput analytical chemistry techniques greatly increased the efficiency and reliability of these methods. These evolved HTE techniques have been utilized extensively to develop highly innovative catalysis solutions to the most challenging problems in large-scale pharmaceutical synthesis. Starting with Pd- and Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling chemistry, subsequent efforts expanded to other valuable modern synthetic transformations such as chiral phase-transfer catalysis, photoredox catalysis, and C-H functionalization. As our experience and confidence in HTE techniques matured, we envisioned their application beyond problems in process chemistry to address the needs of medicinal chemists. Here the problem of reaction generality is felt most acutely, and HTE approaches should prove broadly enabling. However, the quantities of both time and starting materials available for chemistry troubleshooting in this space generally are severely limited. Adapting to these needs led us to invest in smaller predefined arrays of transformation-specific screening "kits" and push the boundaries of miniaturization in chemistry screening, culminating in the development of "nanoscale" reaction screening carried out in 1536-well plates. Grappling with the problem of generality also inspired the exploration of cheminformatics-driven HTE approaches such as the Chemistry Informer Libraries. These next-generation HTE methods promise to empower chemists to run orders of magnitude more experiments and enable "big data" informatics approaches to reaction design and troubleshooting. With these advances, HTE is poised to revolutionize how chemists across both industry and academia discover new synthetic methods, develop them into tools of broad utility, and apply them to problems of practical significance.

Chiral phase-transfer catalysis in the asymmetric α-heterofunctionalization of prochiral nucleophiles.

Chiral phase-transfer catalysis is one of the major catalytic principles in asymmetric catalysis. A broad variety of different catalysts and their use for challenging applications have been reported over the last decades. Besides asymmetric C–C bond forming reactions the use of chiral phase-transfer catalysts for enantioselective α-heterofunctionalization reactions of prochiral nucleophiles became one of the most important field of application of this catalytic principle. Based on several highly spectacular recent reports, we thus wish to discuss some of the most important achievements in this field within the context of this review.

Reaction of azides and enolisable aldehydes under the catalysis of organic bases and Cinchona based quaternary ammonium salts

Herein we report a two-step sequence for the preparation of amides starting from azides and enolisable aldehydes. The reaction proceeded via the formation of triazoline intermediates that were converted into amides via Lewis acid catalysis. Preliminary studies on the preparation of triazolines under chiral phase transfer catalysis are also presented, demonstrating that enantioenriched amides could be prepared from achiral aldehydes in moderate to low enantioselectivity.

Phase-transfer catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of α,β-unsaturated γ,γ-disubstituted γ-lactams.

The direct enantioselective vinylogous Michael addition of unsaturated γ-monosubstituted γ-lactams was realized by using chiral phase-transfer catalysis as a means to give enantioenriched γ,γ-disubstituted γ-lactams.

A rapid and highly enantioselective C-11C bond formation of l-[11C]phenylalanine via chiral phase-transfer catalysis.

A rapid method for the synthesis of carbon-11 radiolabeled phenylalanine was developed using a chiral phase-transfer catalyst and a sub-nanomolar quantity of [11C]benzyl iodide as a radio-precursor. Based on a reported synthesis of [11C]benzyl iodide, a Schiff base precursor was evaluated for stereoselective [11C]benzylation. Extensive and interactive screening of the precursor, catalyst, base, stirring and temperature was required to achieve high stereoinduction. The result is an efficient 5-step radiolabeling method to reliably synthesize l- or d-[11C]phenylalanine with an excellent enantiomeric excess of >90% and almost quantitative radiochemical conversion of >95% (n > 5). Additionally, a phase-transfer catalyzed alkylation was utilized on the preparative scale using automated platform. The application resulted in high specific activity ranging from 85-135 GBq μmol-1 of the enantiomerically pure [11C]phenylalanine, showing that the process is robust and amenable to broad use in PET.

Asymmetric tandem hemiaminal-heterocyclization-aza-Mannich reaction of 2-formylbenzonitriles and amines using chiral phase transfer catalysis: an experimental and theoretical study

The first asymmetric synthesis of 3-amino-substituted isoindolinones was accomplished via cascade hemiaminal-heterocyclization-intramolecular aza-Mannich reaction of amines and 2-formylbenzonitriles using chiral phase transfer conditions (PTC).

Organic base-promoted enantioselective electrophilic cyanation of β-keto esters by using chiral phase-transfer catalysts.

Highly enantioselective cyanation of β-keto esters using hypervalent iodine(iii) as the electrophilic cyanating reagent induced by cinchona alkaloid-based chiral quaternary ammonium salt was demonstrated. Organic bases, especially DMAP, in the chiral phase-transfer catalysis were used to obtain high ees.

Highly Enantioselective Monofluoromethylation of C2-Arylindoles Using FBSM under Chiral Phase-Transfer Catalysis

The highly enantioselective addition of 1-fluoro-1,1-bis(phenylsulfonyl)methane (FBSM) to vinylogous imines generated in situ from 2-aryl-3-(1-arylsulfonylmethyl)indoles was achieved using chiral ammonium salts derived from cinchona alkaloids. One-pot conversion from 2-arylindoles with FBSM was also adaptable under the same reaction conditions. The key for this transformation is the effective use of the arylsulfonyl group.

ChemInform Abstract: Chiral Quaternary Phosphonium Salts: A New Class of Organocatalysts

AbstractReview: 50 refs.

Chiral quaternary phosphonium salts: a new class of organocatalysts

Phase-transfer catalysis has widely been used as a prime synthetic tool for both laboratory and industrial processes. During the last twenty years, asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis using chiral organocatalysts has attracted widespread interest. However, the scope of chiral phase-transfer catalysis has been limited mostly to the quaternary ammonium salts. As an emerging area, the recent developments in the application of quaternary phosphonium salts as chiral phase-transfer catalysts are discussed in this article.

Asymmetric Conjugate Additions of α‐Substituted‐α‐cyanoacetates to Acetylenic Ketones by Chiral Phase Transfer Catalysis.

AbstractChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.

Asymmetric conjugate additions of α-substituted-α-cyanoacetates to acetylenic ketones by chiral phase transfer catalysis

Asymmetric conjugate addition of α-substituted-α-cyanoacetates to acetylenic ketones has been achieved with high enantioselectivity and moderate E/ Z selectivity under the influence of our recently designed, binaphthyl-modified 3,5-bis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]phenyl substituted phase transfer catalyst.

Synthesis of 2-[18F]Fluoro-L-tyrosine and comparative study of its uptake by rat glioma 35 tumor and by induced inflammation focus in experimental animals

2-[18F]Fluoro-L-tyrosine (2-[18F]FTYR), a labeled fluorinated analog of tyrosine, was prepared using chiral phase-transfer catalysis. The radiochemical yield of 2-[18F]FTYR corrected for radioactive decay was 25±6% (n = 15) at a synthesis time of 110–120 min, including semipreparative HPLC purification. The radiochemical and chemical purity of the product exceeded 99%, and the enantiomeric purity was 98.2±0.7% (n = 15). The uptake of 2-[18F]FTYR by tumors and abscesses in laboratory animals was studied. The ratios of radioactivity uptake by tumor or imflamed tissue to that of an intact muscle tissue were calculated. Within the time of experiment, the tumor/muscle ratio exceeds the abscess/muscle ratio. The results obtained allow 2-[18F]FTYR to be considered as potentially useful radiotracer for differential diagnostics of tumors and inflammations by PET.

Highly Enantioselective Monoalkylation of p‐Chlorobenzaldehyde Imine of Glycine tert‐Butyl Ester under Mild Phase‐Transfer Conditions.

AbstractChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.

Pseudoenzymatic catalyst–substrate interactions in ion-pair mediated chiral phase transfer catalysis

Complementary electronic effects between the substrate and the cinchona-based catalyst in the pseudoenzymatic ion-pair mediated chiral phase transfer alkylations of indanone enolate anions were demonstrated.